Fastening system

ABSTRACT

A fastening system for the releasable fixing of a second component ( 10 ) on a first component ( 12 ), such as the attachment of a covering component on a vehicle-body component, having at least one spacer ( 20 ) which can be fixed on one side on the first component ( 10 ) by means of a first fastening means and is provided on its opposite side with a first cling-fastener part ( 30 ) which can be brought into engagement releasably with a corresponding second cling-fastener part ( 32 ) which, on its side which faces away from the fastener elements ( 28, 34 ), can be fixed on the second component ( 12 ) by means of a second fastening means ( 38 ), is characterized in that the spacer ( 20 ) can be fixed on the first component ( 10 ) by means of a screw connection which forms the first fastening means.

The invention relates to a fastening system for releasably fixing a second component on a first component, such as attaching a covering component to a component of a vehicle body, having at least one spacer, which can be fixed on its one side on the first component by means of a first fastening means and is provided on its opposite side with a first touch-and-close fastener part, which can be brought into releasable engagement with a corresponding second touch-and-close fastener part which, on its side which faces away from the fastener elements, can be fixed on the second component by means of a second fastening means.

A fastening system of this type is state of the art, cf. WO 2009/097950. Such a fastening system is used, among other things, to fix two-dimensional coverings at defined locations, for example, to mask unsightly looking areas, but can also be used for thermal and acoustical insulation. Hence, panel-like covering components are used, for example, in the production of motor vehicles, in order to cover large areas of sheet metal parts as the components of the vehicle body. In this context, components of a vehicle body may include, for example, loading doors, but also floors and ceilings of the vehicle body. In addition to the aforementioned motor vehicle sector, such fastening systems can also be used in trains, ships, and aircraft, where comparable problems have to be solved.

Owing to the fact that fastening systems make possible a releasable connection between a second component, such as a covering component, and a first component, such as another component, technical devices, which run, for example, inside the other component, such as cables, air conditioning ducts, control electronics, etc., can be designed to be easily accessible, as needed, by simply removing the covering part from the other component with the respective technical device. Thanks to the fastening by means of interactive touch-and-close fastener parts, such measures can be carried out with relatively little physical effort and minimal installation effort.

Certain limitations with respect to the possible use of such a fastening system exist only in cases in which the covering components are subject to high thermal loads. For example, this is the case when the fastening system is installed for vehicle body components that are exposed, for example, to higher temperatures, for example, due to direct solar radiation in the summer. Therefore, it is mandatory to design the adhesive bond, which is provided in the state of the art, between the spacer and the component, such as the vehicle body component, in such a way that this adhesive bond is suitably heat resistant. Preferably, reactive adhesives, such as moisture crosslinking polyurethane adhesives, are used for this purpose, and it is also possible to use high temperature resistant hot melt adhesives, such as polyamide adhesives. The handling of such relatively cost intensive adhesives is relatively time consuming.

With respect to the aforesaid, the object of the present invention is to provide a fastening system of the type under consideration that can be used advantageously for all purposes, even in cases of increased thermal stress.

The invention achieves this object by means of a fastening system of the aforementioned genre in that the spacer can be fixed on the first component by means of a screw connection, which forms the first fastening means. While still retaining the advantages that such a fastening system corresponding to the state of the art offers, the screw connection, provided according to the invention, enables reliable use even under service conditions during which, in particular, thermal stresses may occur, without high temperature resistant adhesives being necessary.

Consequently, the arrangement can be configured in an especially advantageous way in that the spacer has a drilled hole for forming the screw connection, with this drilled hole having an opening edge, which faces the fastener elements and has a conical expansion in which the head of a countersunk head screw can be received in such a way that the upper end of the head is located below the fastener elements. When the screw connection is designed so as to be “sunk,” the mutual mating of the corresponding fastener elements is not adversely affected by the screw connection.

In especially advantageous exemplary embodiments in which the spacer consists of a frame part, which has a rectangular box shape, as well as a frame depression for the flush reception of a substrate layer with the fastener elements of the assigned first touch-and-close fastener part, the drilled hole is formed preferably in the central region of the frame depression.

In this context, the arrangement can be configured with a distinct advantage in that the opening edge of the drilled hole is surrounded by an annular rib, which projects from the surface of the frame depression and is concentric to the drilled hole, with the height of said annular rib being equal to or less than the thickness of a substrate layer of the fastener elements, said substrate layer being receivable in the frame depression. This projecting annular rib can extend, relative to the centering of the substrate layer, into a round opening that is formed in the substrate layer.

The invention is explained below with reference to the drawings. Referring to the drawings, which are diagrammatic representations that are not drawn to scale,

FIG. 1 is a face-side view of a loading door of a transport bus;

FIG. 2 is a face-side view of a covering component, which is to be fixed, according to

FIG. 1, on the loading door by means of the fastening system;

FIG. 3 shows the essential parts of one embodiment of the fastening system as an exploded drawing;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are in the one instance a perspective oblique view and in the other a top view of the spacer of the embodiment from FIG. 3, shown separately;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the spacer with the touch-and-close fastener part mounted on the frame depression of said spacer;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged portion of the region designated as VII in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a top view of the weave pattern of a touch-and-close fastener part, which is used for the fastening system, and

FIG. 9 is a side view of the two-dimensional touch-and-close fastener part, according to

FIG. 8.

The fastening system is explained in detail by means of one exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The fastening system serves to releasably attach a second component 10, in this case a covering component, for example, a multi-layered wood panel, to a first component 12, in this case a component of a vehicle body, for example, in the form of the loading door (shown in FIG. 1) of a transport bus. Such a door is made chiefly of sheet metal components, where the individual sheet metal profiles 14 of the door are separated from each other by recessed surfaces 16. The middle surface 16 serves to receive the covering component 10 (shown in FIG. 2), in that this covering component, which is folded around an imaginary longitudinal axis, is placed on the vehicle body component 12 in such a way that the fastening parts 18, which are shown in FIG. 1, are no longer visible, but rather the rearward, continuous surface of the covering component 10.

Instead of the five fastening parts 18, shown in FIG. 1, it goes without saying that more or fewer fastening parts 18 can be used as a function of the configuration of the respective covering component 10. Covering components 10, which are cut to size so as to be comparable to the surfaces 16, can be inserted in a comparable manner into the top and bottom surface 16 of the sheet metal door, which is not shown, however, for the sake of simplicity.

FIG. 3 shows a fastening part 18 in its entirety. This fastening part is constructed in the manner of a composite of individual components, beginning with a spacer 20. This spacer is formed preferably in the manner of an injection molded part and is made, for example, of a polyamide 6 material. The spacer 20 has a rectangular box shape with a frame depression 24 for the flush reception of a substrate layer 26 with the mushroom head-shaped fastener elements 28 of the first touch-and-close fastener part 30. Corresponding to the size, there is a second touch-and-close fastener part 32, which is arranged above said first touch-and-close fastener part, inside the composite, and when viewed in the direction of FIG. 3, the underside of said second touch-and-close fastener part also bears mushroom head-shaped fastener elements 34 which are designed so as to correspond to the fastener elements 28. Hence, the mushroom heads 34 of the second touch-and-close fastener part 32 can mesh with the spaces, formed by the mushroom heads 28 of the first touch-and-close fastener part 30, in a releasable manner in order to produce a touch-and-close fastener as a whole. The respective mushroom heads of the said fastener elements 28, 34 are connected to the respective substrate layer by means of stalks or stems, with the substrate layer of the second touch-and-close fastener part 32 being designated as 36. It is also possible to replace the mushroom heads 34 for the second touch-and-close fastener part 32 with fleece material (not shown in detail), which then in the fixed state interlocks correspondingly with the mushrooms 28 of the first touch-and-close fastener part 30. Furthermore, such mushroom heads 28 can also be designed as a hook fastener; and, moreover, the fastener elements can be exchanged, for example, such that the fleece is arranged on the first touch-and-close fastener part 30 and the mushrooms are arranged on the second touch-and-close fastener part 32. Furthermore, there is the possibility of arranging male fastener elements, such as hooks, mushrooms, etc., with female fastener elements, such as loops, on one side of a touch-and-close fastener part 30, 32.

The back side of the second touch-and-close fastener part 32 exhibits a second fastening means 38, preferably in the form of an adhesive. An adhesive that is used most preferably for this purpose is a pressure sensitive, acrylate-based adhesive or a so-called synthetic rubber adhesive. In order to protect the top adhesive layer 38, which can be seen in the direction of FIG. 3, there is a peelable protective film 40, preferably in the form of a polyethylene film.

The composite of spacer 20 with the two touch-and-close fastener parts 30 and 32 forms together with the protective film 40 a fastening part 18 according to FIG. 1. This composite forming the fastening parts 18 is securely connected by means of a screw connection with the component 12 of the vehicle body in such a way that the underside of the spacer 20 rests, when seen in the direction of FIG. 1, against the top side of the surface 16 of the vehicle body component 12 as the first component. If at this point the protective film 40 is removed from the respective composite, the covering component 10, which is folded, as the second component, by 180° in the longitudinal direction, can be fixed in a defined manner on the fastening parts 18 on the inside of the door. The detailed design of the screw connection for fixing the spacer 20 on the vehicle body component 12 is explained in detail below with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7.

If at this point the covering component 10 is to be detached from the vehicle body component 12, then the covering component 10 is peeled off correspondingly from the surface 16 of the door, with the spacer 20 and the first touch-and-close fastener part 30 then remaining on the vehicle body component 12 (door) as the first component, whereas the corresponding second touch-and-close fastener part 32 remains on the covering component 10 as the second component. When the covering component 10 is removed, it is possible to perform corresponding maintenance work on the door. Moreover, the first touch-and-close fastener part 30 is fixed by means of an adhesive (not shown in detail) in the frame depression 24 of the spacer 20, which has preferably the shape of a square cross section, in such a way that the first touch-and-close fastener part cannot be lost.

FIGS. 3 to 7 show very clearly that in order to form the screw connection in the central region of the frame depression, the spacer 20 has a drilled hole 27 having an opening edge that faces the fastener elements 28. This opening edge forms a conical expansion 33 as the seat for the head of a countersunk head screw (not illustrated). The conical expansion 33 is designed to be adapted to the shape and dimensions of the head (not illustrated) of the countersunk head screw, so that the head may be found below the fastener elements 28, and preferably does not protrude beyond the substrate layer 26. As a result, the interlocking engagement is not impeded by the countersunk head screw. It is especially clear from FIGS. 3, 4, and 7 that the opening edge of the drilled hole 27 is enveloped by a concentric annular rib 29 at the end of the expansion 33, with this annular rib projecting from the surface of the frame depression 24 by a distance that corresponds more or less to the thickness of the substrate layer 26 (see FIG. 6). When the substrate layer 26 rests on the surface of the frame depression 24, the annular rib 29 extends in a centering manner into an opening 31, which is constructed with a diameter which slightly exceeds the outside diameter of the annular rib 29, in the substrate layer 26.

The height of the respective spacers 20 can be designed so as to vary, in order to be able to compensate in this way for dissimilar dimensions, for example, inside the vehicle body component 12. In order to be able to ensure ease of assembly on site, the various groups of spacers 20 can be colored in such a way that one design, for example, with the greater height is colored blue and the other spacers 20 then are colored a different color, for example, green.

The two touch-and-close fastener parts 30, 32 shown in FIG. 3 can be designed, for example, in such a way that stem-like fixing parts are enclosed from the rear side into drilled holes, which are provided for this purpose, in a plate-like substrate structure and, hence, in the substrate layer 26. These drilled holes are formed in the manner of a fixing element that has the form of a clamp or a U-shape. In order to form the mushroom head-shaped fastener elements 28, 34, the free stem ends, which project out of the substrate layer 26 of the stem-like fixing elements, are shaped by heat treatment and/or mechanical means; and in this way the characteristic head shape is attained. It is also possible to insert the individual stem elements from the respective free face side into corresponding recesses (drilled holes) in the respective substrate layer 26, 36 by means of a loading machine, known from computer technology, so that such a connection in turn can be carried out by applying a suitable adhesive. Then it is possible to achieve thickenings in the form of mushroom heads on the free end of the respective stalk part by means of a preferred heat treatment or mechanical shaping process. However, a preferred method for obtaining the corresponding touch-and-close fastener part 30 and/or 32 is depicted in the embodiment according to FIGS. 8 and 9.

FIG. 8 is a top view of a portion of a two-dimensional touch-and-close fastener part 30 and/or 32. The touch-and-close fastener part 30, 32 can be lengthened, as desired, in the one and also in the other direction of the figure within the plane of the figure; and the geometric dimensions of the flat shaped article are a function of the specification of the weaving machine, on which the touch-and-close fastener part 30, 32 is fabricated. In the present embodiment, the respective touch-and-close fastener part 30, 32 consists of warp threads 44 and weft threads 46, which are woven together in a transverse arrangement to form the backing fabric 48 for the touch-and-close fastener part 30, 32. Then such a backing fabric 48 forms, for this purpose, the respective substrate layer 26 and/or 36. Furthermore, the backing fabric 48 is constructed with so-called functional threads 50 in the manner of pile threads. Then the respective functional thread 50 forms the individual mushroom head-shaped fastener elements 28, 34 for the two-dimensional touch-and-close fastener part. In order to obtain the mushroom head-shaped fastener elements 28, 34, the pile threads 50 are separated at their upper arc, according to the drawing from FIG. 9, and then a suitable heat treatment causes the free stalk ends to be shaped into the desired mushroom head-shaped fastener elements 28, 34. The results are then the fastener elements shown in FIG. 3.

Moreover, viewed in the direction of FIG. 8, the top side of this figure shows the production direction for the respective touch-and-close fastener part 30, 32 with an arrow 52. In the illustrated arrangement, according to FIG. 8, the respective weft threads 46 are configured so as to have an arc shape in the manner of a sine or cosine wave, and at the crossing sites between the warp threads 44 and weft threads 46 the warp threads 44 run parallel to the production direction 52 as well as parallel to one another in a linear arrangement. However, instead of the sine or cosine wave, it is also possible to arrange the weft threads 46 in a linear manner which facilitates the production. Only with the wave or arc shape is the linear orientation, running in one direction, avoided at the fastener elements 28, 34 of the touch-and-close fastener, and an arc-shaped, sinusoidal arrangement brings a defined resistance against the disengagement movement of the corresponding fastener elements 28, 34, so that the holding forces are substantially constant and as such can also be calculated.

The individual fastener parts 30, 32 can be cut out of the two-dimensional composite that is produced in this way, or the weaving method is configured in such a way that the required square base shape is achieved immediately. Instead of the illustrated weaving method, the proposed fastener can also exist in the knitted form.

It is self-evident that at variance with the depiction by way of the examples in FIGS. 1 and 2, the fastening parts 18 could be securely attached with the spacers 20 on the covering component 10 as the first component by means of a screw connection, wherein the touch-and-close fastener parts 32 would be provided by the vehicle body component 12 as the second component. 

1. A fastening system for releasably fixing a second component (10) on a first component (12), such as attaching a covering component to a component of a vehicle body, having at least one spacer (20), which can be fixed on its one side on the first component (10) by means of a first fastening means and is provided on its opposite side with a first touch-and-close fastener part (30), which can be brought into releasable engagement with a corresponding second touch-and-close fastener part (32) which, on its side which faces away from the fastener elements (28, 34), can be fixed on the second component (12) by means of a second fastening means (38), characterized in that the spacer (20) can be fixed on the first component (10) by means of a screw connection which forms the first fastening means.
 2. The fastening system according to claim 1, characterized in that the spacer (20) has a drilled hole (27) for forming the screw connection, with this drilled hole having an opening edge, which faces the fastener elements (28) and has a conical expansion (33) in which the head of a countersunk head screw can be received in such a way that the upper end of the head is located below the fastener elements (28).
 3. The fastening system according to claim 2, characterized in that the spacer (20) consists of a frame part, which has a rectangular box shape, with a frame depression (24) for the flush reception of a substrate layer (26) with the fastener elements (28) of the first touch-and-close fastener part (30), and that the drilled hole (27) is formed in the central region of the frame depression (24).
 4. The fastening system according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the opening edge of the drilled hole (27) is surrounded by an annular rib (29), which projects from the surface of the frame depression (24) and is concentric to the drilled hole (27), with the height of said annular rib being equal to or less than the thickness of a substrate layer (26) of the fastener elements (28), said substrate layer being receivable in the frame depression (24).
 5. The fastening system according to claim 4, characterized in that the first touch-and-close fastener part (30) has a round opening (31), which penetrates the substrate layer (26), and in which the annular rib (29) can be received in a centering manner at the opening edge of the drilled hole (27).
 6. The fastening system according to claims 1, characterized in that the respective fastener elements (28, 34) of the first touch-and-close fastener part (30) and corresponding second touch-and-close fastener part (32) are formed as mushroom heads, and that the mushroom heads of the first touch-and-close fastener part (30) releasably mesh with the spaces formed by the mushroom heads of the second touch-and-close fastener part (32). 